Dead Today, Gone Tomorrow
by Roxanne Bird
Summary: Sookie has been working at Fangtasia from time to time scanning brains and trying to avoid confrontation with Eric. Finally Amelia drags Sookie out to the bar for a "girl's night out." Needles to say, things do not go as planned. Assumed all 8 books.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein are the sole property of Charlaine Harris and HBO (though I wish Eric was my property).

Rated: M for Mature

**A/N:** This is my first (real) attempt at fan fiction. I welcome constructive criticism (good or bad), suggestions and feedback. And I want to know if people think I should continue. To be honest I'm not entirely 100% sure what direction I want to take the story in (which is why I relish suggestions). I'll try my hardest to make a clear plot; I think I've got a good idea. But I do love E/S fluff because it makes me feel good and I know it makes other people feel good too while we wait for Dead and Gone so...

Sorry if there are any mistakes, grammar or otherwise (no beta but I do proof read to the best of my abilities). Oh, and it assumes all 8 books and though I haven't had the privilege of reading W&M its set after that just to be safe. If someone wants to PM and summarize W&M I have no problems with that either (hint hint).

Hope everyone enjoys!

Chapter One

"C'mon Stackhouse." Amelia yelled to me from beside the passenger door to my car, "We're going to be late."

How one could be late when no one else knew that you were coming, I did not know.

"Coming, Broadway." I replied a bit annoyed.

It was Amelia's birthday and I promised her that we would do whatever she wanted. Well, she wanted to have a little "girl's night out" at Fangtasia. I didn't need to ask why. Amelia and Pam got along smashingly well. At least, as much as a vampire and a witch can. I reasoned that they both shared a deep connection for all things soccer mom.

I was now reassured that Amelia and Pam were not an item, not that I would have mind. In fact, Amelia had been going with Tray Dawson for about a month now and they seemed really happy. I'm so happy for them_. Happy, happy, happy_. I wished my word of the day calendar would have given me a better synonym for the offending word. Instead I got lacuna, _hmm. Think my calendar is trying to tell me something_. Just last week I got the word chiliad and nearly threw the whole damn thing out.

I did my final round of the house by checking if all the security lights were on, making sure all the windows and doors were locked, checking to see if the oven was off and making my bed. I was secretly hoping that by the time I was done Amelia would have given up on me and gone to the bar by herself. It's not that I didn't want to go; I just spent enough time in a bar already. It's not fun anymore, its work. Not to mention a certain pissed off Nordic vampire who would undoubtedly sense me coming from a mile away. And thanks to the blood bond, that was literally true. I had considered trying to blend in with the crowd, not that I have any illusions about blending into a crowd of fangbangers. Although, with what I was wearing it seemed that if I could keep my emotions in check and try to temporarily block the bond on my end, then I just might be able to hold off on the inevitable confrontation. I had never tried to block the bond, but it seemed reasonable enough that it could be done.

Amelia had insisted that I borrow one of her expensive, top -of-the-line, dresses. I tried to refuse, but that women does not take no for an answer. _Geez, I'm starting to think Amelia and Eric would make the best of friends_. This particular dress came from one of Amelia's ex-boyfriends. She claimed that she would never wear it again anyways so I shouldn't feel guilty if I accidently ruined it. I tried not to choke as she pictured Eric ripping the dress clean off of me. _Shields back up Sookie_. Amelia was such a strong broadcaster that I could get pictures from her head, like I was watching the television.

It was just a simple black strapless dress, but it was beautiful nonetheless. It had a slight sweetheart neck with an empire waistline and came down mid thigh. Thankfully it had a built in bra because I wasn't so sure I was going to get one of my own in there. Amelia lent me a pair of her black patent fuck-me heels. The entire ensemble was a little bit racier than what I was used to but when I tried to put on a pair of black stockings Amelia bombarded me with reasons for why I should let me legs breathe. Again, I was attacked with very unholy images. _Where are my shields tonight?_ I thought.

I grabbed my cranberry coloured coat and walked out the door. Off to Fangtasia, yet again. I seemed to be spending a lot of time there recently. With the Fellowship of the Sun becoming more militant and waitresses mysteriously disappearing or quitting, my telepathic abilities were in demand and I needed the extra money. Working at Merlotte's was great, but it wasn't enough. I would go to Fangtasia once a week to help Pam interview applicants. So far, I had turned up nothing on the FotS front, whether that was good news or not.

My interactions with Eric had been limited and I wasn't particularly upset about that. Every opportunity Eric got to corner me he would try to bring up the understanding _he_ wanted _us_ to come to. Alas, it was never the right time or place for such a thing and I would quickly remind him that I was on his clock and that I wasn't getting paid to fraternize. He would scowl.

But now, now that I was going to Fangtasia just to hang out, well, that was a whole different story. I wouldn't be able to avoid Eric if I wanted. What scared me more was that I wasn't so sure I actually wanted to avoid him.

So here Amelia and I were, at the entrance to Fangtasia, all dolled up looking like a pair of high end fangbangers just begging to be bit. _Just great_. Pam was on her usual door duty looking mighty bored but when she saw us next in line she smirked a little giving both of us a good once over.

"Sookie, Amelia, you're both looking delectable this evening." Pam purred. I noticed a little bit of lip licking and tried not to give it too much thought. _That Pam._

"Thanks Pam." I said. You can't forget your manners, even in situations as awkward as these, Gran would have been pleased.

Pam turned her full attention to me. "This is a surprise. My Master will be pleased."_ Oh shoot. I forgot to attempt to block the bond_. I wondered if it would be anything like blocking unwanted thoughts with my shields. But the bond was...different. When I heard someone's thoughts I didn't feel any of the emotions that went along with it. I knew the emotion but it didn't engulf me and overtake my own. Unfortunately, as I found out from working so closely to Eric once a week for a month or so, that is exactly what the bond did. It also became evident that the closer I was to Eric the stronger our connection became, though thankfully I could never hear his or other vampire's thoughts (on a regular basis). I had had some scary glimpses a couple of times.

I knew it was too late for my plan now. Pam had probably mentally informed Eric that I was here, that is to say unless he already felt my proximity.

Pam gave both Amelia and I a quick peck on the cheek, of course she lingered a little longer on mine. "Save a dance for me." She winked and called to us in an amused tone. I wasn't sure if she was talking to me, Amelia or both of us.

As we entered the bar KDED, the local vamp radio station, was blaring "Living Dead Girl" by Rob Zombie over the speakers. I nearly fell on my face as Amelia grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me over to the bar to order our first rounds. _These shoes are going to be the death of me._ Of course, since I was the designated driver I was only going to indulge myself for one well deserved gin and tonic.

Felicia acknowledged my presence with a slight edgy nod. She was still convinced that I was personally responsible for the (final) deaths of every other bartender and Pam did nothing to help the situation. Felicia either steered clear of me or she would act like a complete brownnoser trying to buy my affection so I wouldn't kill her. She wasn't the smartest vamp. Tonight she deemed it not safe to be near me so the other bartender took our orders. That was just fine with me.

I really had done a good job of stalling back at home. It was about 11PM and the bar was absolutely hopping. It was so busy that I couldn't even manage a peek through the crowd to see if Eric was sprawled out on his throne or in his preferred booth.

Before I knew it Amelia had downed two shots of tequila and was once again frantically grabbing for my wrist to pull me onto the dance floor as "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails came on the speakers.

"I love this song!" she screamed as if to say that I had no opinion in the matter of me shaking my rump in public.

For once I was extremely grateful for the large crowd on the dance floor. It may have made my mental shields strain a little but that was a small price to pay for not being embarrassed by being the only ones dancing. Although, if I may say so myself, I am a fabulous dancer, but I can't sing for my life.

So there Amelia and I were, alcohol taking over, and I decided to just let loose a little and have some fun, stop worrying about the big bad Viking. No sooner had I made my decision to have a little fun and started to dance in a very, er, close proximity to Amelia face to face did a set of cool lips and a bit of fang graze my ear lobe and I felt an odd warmth trickle through all my limbs.

"Sookie, it is a _pleasure_ seeing you here tonight." Eric's lascivious pronunciation of _pleasure_ did things to my libido that I am ashamed to admit.

Then it hit me, my feelings and total lack of inhibition hadn't come from myself, oh no, they came from Eric. The confidence, happiness and, uh, lustfulness I had felt moments earlier grinding against Amelia were not my own or because of the alcohol, at least not entirely.

Eric put his left hand on my waist and spun me around to face him. Looking into those blazing bluer than the sky blue eyes made me melt but I couldn't let Eric know that. I had to be strong. I could see the intent in his eyes as he pierced me with his stare. _Oh heck, how am I going to get out _of_ this one? _I pondered on it for a few seconds then decided that the best course of action to take would be to distract him by pulling him into a dance.

I went to move a little closer to him and put my hands on his waist swaying and moving a little up and down his body to the beat as we made contact. I could feel him responding on my upper thigh but to my utter astonishment he bent down and growled into my ear "Not yet Lover, we have other matters to discuss." He pushed me back a little. _So much for my brilliant plan, _I thought.

"Eric, I'm not leaving Amelia out here alone." I was really grasping for straws and Eric could tell.

"She doesn't appear to be alone." He said with a wry smile on his face as he nodded towards my back. I immediately turned around to see Amelia and Pam dancing like a pair of excited teenagers at a high school dance. It was quite the sight. One I am sure will be ingrained in my brain for the rest of my human existence.

I still didn't like the idea of abandoning Amelia, but her being with Pam did make me feel a little bit better.

At that moment I decided to just rip the Band Aid off and get this entire ordeal over with. I approached Amelia, prepared to grovel and bargain with her for leaving her out on the floor alone, on her birthday, but when I told her I had to go for a while she couldn't have cared less. She was all smiles. Even her thoughts were as content as could be. She told me to "Go do whatever I had to do," and "Not to worry about a thing."

I turned back to face Eric who had an annoyingly smug look on his face as he grabbed my hand and guided us through the crowd and into the back hallway.

"And don't think I don't know that you had something to do with that." I said as he shut the door to his office behind him.

"I surely know not what you mean." He said taken aback, practically gasping. Very dramatic indeed.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Pam just happened to show up at the perfect moment to occupy Amelia. Anyways," I said changing the subject, "what do you need?" It was my turn to play dumb.

"Well, Dear One, what _we_ need is to come to an understanding." He stressed the "_we" _part a little too much for my comfort. I had to give him credit though, he was trying to make it seem like my opinions mattered and that coming to this understanding was in my best interest, which it _so_ was not.

"Okay, listen, Eric--" He placed a finger over my lips to shush me then replaced that finger with his lips taking me in for a tender and almost reverent kiss. He stopped it first, looked into my eyes and began guiding me to walk backwards, his cool hands placed on either side of my shoulders. How could this man make me burn for him with just a little eye contact? Eric gently pushed me up against the door and our lips made contact again. There was nothing tender about this kiss, it was pure fire. He groaned as I sucked and nibbled on his lower lip. I threw my head back as I felt one of his hands sliding up my thigh anticipating what was to come.

In the softest voice he whispered into my ear "I'm going to enjoy fucking you in those heels." I wasn't really sure what to make of that comment but I knew I would enjoy it too. With a feather light touch he began making a trail of kisses from my mouth down my throat and out to the sensitive skin on my collar bone.

Then everything went to hell.

TBC

Reviews make Eric happy

**A/N:** If anyone wants to give it a listen, the version of "Living Dead Girl" by Rob Zombie is the remix not the original if you were curious.

**Chiliad** defined by dictionary . com: **a period of 1000 years.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein are the sole property of Charlaine Harris and HBO (though I wish I owned Eric)

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Chapter Two

It was like time stopped, and not in a good way. Eric broke from what he was doing and with vampire speed he straightened up and the only way to describe the way he looked was _aware_. I was overcome with a certain urgency and I knew that wasn't my feeling. I was feeling horny and that pretty much summed it up. His eyes opened wide and before I knew what was happened Eric grabbed me and spun me around from the door pushing me forward, as I heard a loud BANG. This whole incident probably only took about two seconds but for me it felt like a life time.

I had lost my balance, no thanks to the shoes that Eric wanted to "fuck" me in, and fell hard to the floor. His back was now against the door and there was a small puddle of blood forming underneath where he stood. I knew it wasn't my own. _Not again_, my thoughts groaned. Why did this always seem to happen when I was around Eric?

Many emotions ran across Eric's face in the few seconds after the blast, which I now assumed was a gunshot but due to the door and his body the bang had been muffled to my ears. The most surprising emotion that I felt come across the bond was relief, relief that I hadn't been harmed.

Once Eric was sure that the threat had passed he dashed to help me up off the floor. _Good cause I'm not so sure I can get up with these stupid heels on, _I thought. Once off the floor I straightened myself out and glanced over at the wooden door, there was a nice little splintery hole in it, then I looked at Eric. Other than his fangs being extended, if he was excited or in pain he wasn't showing it. Eric simply hauled off his Fangtasia tee to reveal a nasty bloody hole in his back, along with a set of perfectly chiselled muscles that would make even the gods weep.

"My shirts always get ruined around you." He almost sounded amused. I just rolled my eyes.

"Eric, what's going on? Won't they get away?"One of us had to sound concerned.

He ignored my first question. "Unlikely, I sent Pam after them and it is better that I stay with you." _Hmm...interesting_. " Did you _hear_ anything?"

"Uh, no." I wanted to tell him that if he hadn't been sucking my tongue down his throat maybe I would have sensed our shooter, but that didn't seem appropriate.

Eric sat on the edge of his desk, probably because he didn't want to get blood on his chair or couch waiting to heal. I couldn't resist walking over to him and checking out the wound. Maybe it was my maternal instincts kicking in (or the bond) but I felt like I needed to take care of Eric, the thousand year old Viking vampire. Silly, I know.

The wound was deep, that meant the shooter was close to his (or her) target. I had so many questions that I didn't know where to begin. _First things first_, I grabbed a water bottle from Eric's mini fridge and some Kleenex and began to dab at the wound until the blood flow stopped, which didn't take long thanks to vampires having such thick blood not to mention healing like nobody's business.

The bullet had nearly protruded from the wound when Eric turned to face me, that smouldering look in his eyes. He was extremely pale and it didn't take a telepath to know what he was thinking.

I could feel his bloodlust through the bond. And thanks to the bond I really, really wanted him to have the blood and, ah, _release_ that he so desired. But for some miracle I snapped myself out of it. There was a hole in the door, _Jesus Christ Sheppard of_ _Judah_ anyone walking by would have been able to hear or see us and I am _so_ not into that sort of thing. I'm a lady and ladies don't have sex where other people can see them. Plus Pam or Amelia would probably be back here in a couple minutes. I hoped Amelia was alright. I thought that Eric would tell me if anything happened in the bar area.

Eric was still smouldering down at me intently but I wasn't in the mood anymore. There were too many unanswered questions.

"Eric, snap out of it," I waved a hand in front of his face then proceeded to hop off the desk to go heat him up some TrueBlood.

"But, Lover, why can I not have you?" Geez, he sounded so innocent and for about the tenth time that night I almost gave in. Then I got a chilly reminder that just because the lion is charming doesn't mean the gazelle shouldn't run for its dear life. And that's just what this little interaction was, predator stalking prey.

"I think you can manage. Besides, there's a bar full of fangbangers out there who would just die to be your meal," I joked but Eric just looked indifferent. I wondered if a little part of me wanted to know what he thought about having other women now that we were...well, what were we? Certainly we were bonded by blood, but that isn't really a title you would give to a questioning third party like the terms "boyfriend" or "husband."

Moments later Pam strolled into Eric's office like she owned the place, Amelia in tow. Upon seeing me, Amelia quickly rushed over and gave me a huge hug then stood me back and gave my entire body a good once over to check for damage which made me assumed that she had been at least briefed on the situation by Pam. She whispered that she had been worried about me and I returned her sentiments.

"I am here, Master." Pam announced and I had to stifle a little giggle at her formality. She didn't continue, instead she waited, like a good little child vampire, for her _Master_ to address her.

"Did you apprehend our shooter?" Eric questioned, sipping on the synthetic blood that I handed him.

"No." Simple. One word answer. And it was the reason for all the "Master" business moments ago. When Pam wasn't in public or near other vampires, she did not address Eric as "Master" unless she had to suck up to him. I guess it had to do with appearances. Again she waited to be directly addressed.

Eric looked slightly annoyed and I felt anger coming through the bond. "Why?"

"I hunted after the culprit, but they're trail disappeared."

"Like into thin air?!" I spat out slightly shocked.

I wasn't dignified with an answer, instead the two vampires began having one of their creepy mental conversations. Because of the bond I was now able to pick up more of the vampire mystiques such as I could feel the mental conversations going on (but I still couldn't hear a word they said, or thought). I could also sense glamour more. One time, while I was working for Eric, I had frustrated him so much that he attempted to glamour me as a sort of last resort. I screamed "I am not going to let you fuck me right here!" and the look on his face was priceless. I still couldn't hear the glamour but I got a very good sense of what was trying to be willed at me or even other people. Eric tested this out a couple of times by glamouring fangbangers or other waitresses in front of me and I was very accurate in my assessments.

Amelia and I were still standing around looking at our fingernails grow while the silent conversation was ending.

"Sookie, you're staying at my house tonight." Eric said in tone that told me that there was no point in arguing, but a girl could try.

_Uh. I don't think so_. "No Eric. I'm staying at my home. In Bon Temps. You remember the place?"

"Oh Lover, of course I remember." He gave me a wicked grin. Well, that sent shivers down my spine.

"But no, you will be staying with me. There is far too much danger for you to go home."

"What about Amelia?"

"She's staying with me." Pam piped up. "We are going to have a slumber party."

As creepy as a slumber party with a vampire seemed, I would rather do that than end up in bed with Eric tonight because I know that's exactly where this evening was leading and I knew I would be powerless to stop it, hell I wasn't so sure I would want to stop it.

"Then I'll go with Pam." I pleaded at her with my eyes not to let me go with the big bad Viking, something I had done to Bill the first time Eric summoned me.

Eric just chuckled at my gesture. "I do not want to put Pam in harm's way, or Amelia." He obviously added Amelia as an afterthought due to a long pause between their names. "The attempt was on your life, Sookie." This was news to me as I shot Eric a very questioning look motioning him to continue. "Lover, they were using a gun and unless we are dealing with incompetent imbeciles, they would not use bullets to kill or harm me. Either they are after you just because you are you," I shot him a nasty glare "or they are after you because they are trying to get to me, or someone else that you are closely associated with. Either way, I am not going to risk any harm coming to you."

"Couldn't they get to you through Pam also?"

"Possibly, as a last resort, but for one, Pam can handle herself and secondly; if they were going to go after Pam they would have already done so when she was alone on her breaks this evening."

I had run out of good arguments. Eric was right. It would be stupid to put Pam or Amelia in the middle of this and Amelia looked downright giddy at the prospect of spending more time with Pam. Amelia verbally assured me that this was the best way to go about business and I apologized almost a million times for her ruined birthday party and told her that I would make it up to her somehow.

It was only 12AM by this point but Eric and I couldn't risk putting anyone else in danger in the bar so Pam was charged with the duty of closing up shop. Eric threw on one of his spare shirts that he keeps in the wardrobe in his office and I kept the bullet that he had been shot with in order to protect me. It had become something of a tradition to do that. Then Eric and I hit the road in his red Corvette going faster than a bat out of hell down the narrow two lane streets of Shreveport. Pam said that she would move my car to the back of the bar, so I gave her my keys. The drive to his house was comfortably silent with both of us immersed in deep thought, but only took 20 minutes or so.

I never gave much thought to what Eric's place of residents might look like. I just sort of assumed it would be some big ostentatious Castle Of Doom. I wasn't far off, metaphorically speaking. It was in the back part, which is the wealthiest part, of the only gated community in Renard Parrish. As we approached his house, in the dim light I could tell that it wasn't symmetrical; rather, it had at least three or four sections, all of varying heights with flat roofs that were coming off of a large main section. The outside walls were definitely laid with stone bricks but I couldn't tell what colour because there were only a couple of lights on. Wooden beams were coming off of the house in patters. The whole place looked very earthy and organic and extremely different from all the other typical southern Victorian mansions and estates that we passed on our way here.

"Bat cave." I muttered under my breath as we drove into Eric's garage. He chuckled. Before I could even unbuckle my seat belt he was opening my car door helping me out like a perfect gentleman. He took my hand and escorted me inside, disarming a security system as we entered the first set of glass doors. He casually said "I'll show you how to use this later. " Referring to the alarm console.

Entering our second set of doors Eric flipped some switches, for my benefit, and I gasped. It was beautiful. His place was like a work of art. It was extremely open concept only separated here or there by a sheet of glass or a stone pillar or some changes in the level (one step up here and one step down there). Many of the walls facing the front of his property were brick stone, but the walls facing the back were glass, bulletproof he informed me. The ceiling was quite high and sectioned off with wooden beams. All the furnishings were of course minimalist, which fit with the earthy natural quality of the space. All the couches and chairs were black leather. The floors were a dark hardwood with a few area rugs. I noticed some relics encased in large glass boxes strategically spaced around. I would have to ask Eric about them later, they were probably artefacts from his human existence or items of meaning that he had acquired earlier on as a vampire because they looked that old and I knew that Eric wasn't the sentimental type so those must have meant a lot to him.

After what seemed like an eternity of my gawking and Eric practically preening he was so proud, he led me to a stairway that was in the middle of the main section. It was probably as wide as I am tall. It too was made out of smooth pebbles inlaid into concrete. The black steel rail of the banister actually hung from the ceiling. As we walked up and into the new space I was once more quite shocked by what I saw. The expanse of it was massive, like the first floor, but everything was level here so you could actually grasp the enormity of the space. Of course, I'm just a simple barmaid so my idea of huge might be a bit off from a worldlier person's, but I know a big space when I see one.

Like the first floor it had a lounging area, but I noticed a large home office in the left back corner sectioned off by glass panels. I also noticed a sort of entertainment centre with a large screen plasma television and a lot of audio-stereo equipment.

There was only one room that seemed to be completely sealed of by stone walls. For the life of me I couldn't imagine what else this place was missing.

"What's in there?" I asked.

"One of my bedrooms." He replied, before adding with a wiggle of his eyebrows, "Would you like to see it?"

"Uh, maybe later." I was in a serious daze.

"Definitely later." Well then, I guess that was settled. He continued "But first lover, we are going to have a little talk."

"Eric, do we really have to do this right now? I'm tired and in need of food."

"Sookie, what are you so scared of?" I hate it when he answers one of my questions with another question.

"I...I don't really know" I let my head fall down to look at the ground. It wasn't that I didn't know it was more just that I didn't know how to tell Eric that I hated all his vampire political bullshit and so on.

My stomach growled and before I could say "put me down" I was in his arms and in a very large kitchen. He set me on a high stool at a large island with a black sparkly granite countertop as he moved to the pantry. All the appliances appeared to be brand new and top-of-the-line, which is odd because vampires definitely do not eat food.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"Well Sookie, this is a kitchen." I just rolled my eyes at his attempt to be cute.

"No shit Sherlock."

"My Sookie, you do have a way with words." He paused briefly as he dug out some ingredients. "This is my home, it has been for quite some time. Have you ever heard the name Frank Lloyd Wright?"

I actually had. "Wasn't he some sort of famous architect? He designed that weird museum in New York?" it was more a question because I was unsure, but I remembered who he was from taking an integrated technology course in high school. I connected the dots though. "Wait...the Frank Lloyd Wright designed your house?"

"You do have unexpected depths Lover. You are correct, the Guggenheim. And yes he did design it."

This was definitely a story I wanted to hear and it opened up a whole realm of conversations that were unrelated to The Talk.

"Didn't Wright die in the late 1950s? So that means you've been in Shreveport for over 50 years." What a depressing thought.

"Actually no, I have not been here that long. Wright was made vampire in 1959." Well that was news to me. "Even in his old age he was found very useful since he was able to build effective and secure hidey-holes, as you like to call them."

Eric had finished fumbling around the kitchen and placed a plate in front of me. Again, I was shocked by what I saw. It was a really delicious looking turkey sandwich, complete with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. I probably shouldn't have been so surprised; it's not that hard to make a sandwich, even if you haven't had to eat one in over a thousand years. My first bite into it was heavenly and the hunger pangs in my stomach subsided. I started blushing when I realized that Eric was staring at me all too intently.

"It satisfies me watching you eat." He offered as an explanation.

"I know the feeling. It's the blond bond." I said. He grinned lazily at me.

Once I finished every last delicious crumb I got up to wash my plate but Eric immediately grabbed it from me and just tossed it in the sink. He sat back down across from me and stared into my eyes.  
"Well Lover, it seems that you have now run out of excuses to run from me." I was tempted to yawn and say that I was still tired, but after all he had done for me, even just tonight, I decided to throw him a bone. Instead I sighed and motioned for him to continue.

"I want you to be mine. I know that you say that you are your own woman, and I respect that, but I want to take care of you and comfort you. I will be yours as much as you will be mine. You are the most stubborn human that I have ever come across in my long existence not to mention the fact that I find myself constantly worrying about you and your humanity. I know you would like to write all of this off to your insignificant fey heritage, and I cannot understand why you underestimate yourself." A single tear trickled down my cheek at his last statement. He took my hand from across the counter and began stroking it gently,"It is also not only the bond that we share. There are feelings that have run, that _do_ run deeper than both of those and I would like to explore them with you if you would just let me in. I wasn't lying when I said I would give up everything for you while I was cursed. The offer still stands if that is what you desire." The emotions coming across the bond were overwhelming with hope, honesty and...love?

Well, when he put it like that. "Oh gosh Eric no! I would never take you away from everything, you would be miserable because that's just selfish. But," I started blushing, "if we are going to do this, then I have a few conditions. You're right, I am my own woman. I want to make my own decisions about things like where I live and work. I know my working for Sam is a constant annoyance to you but, if you can handle that without interfering then I will--" I struggled with the possessive pronoun but there really was no better way to put it, and I found by saying it out loud I sort of liked the way it sounded in a messed up kind of way, "be yours."

All I could feel coming across the bond now was pure happiness and it was making me feel a little giddy, but in a good way.

Eric was around the counter and in front of me in an instant, scooping me up into a mind blowing kiss. When he stopped licking my neck he said amused, "What, no Kept Woman Clause?"

I laughed and swatted his arm but warned him about that too saying that I was not a whore and couldn't be bought off with Pretty Things. He told me that it made him feel good to take care of me. I also told him that there were other things that needed to be discussed but we both agreed that we had at least reached Eric's goal for tonight and would leave another discussion for later (including my "Kept Woman Clause")...because now we had other matters to attend to.

TBC

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Reviews make Eric happy.

**A/N:** I assumed Shreveport was in Renard Parrish (Or however its spelled) but I really have no clue and my research was inconclusive so pardon me if I am wrong about it. It doesn't really matter for the sake of the story.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I forgot to mention that Eric's house is based (mildly loosely, more the exterior than interior) on Taliesin. It's a house (and studio) that was built by FLW beginning in 1911 (though Eric's was built much later). Go check out pictures on Google if you're curious as to what Eric's place sort of looks like in my fic. Also, if you're trying to figure out why FLW's name rings a bell, one word: Fallingwater. (but he has designed over 1,000 projects so...)

Ack sorry for these long rants... I'm trying to channel CH and get more comfortable with the writing style so bare with me if things are a little slow (or repetitive) for the first couple chapters...but I promise that I will eventually get to my point. Sorry this chapter took so long. It's a bit fluffier than I intended and I wanted to get Sookie's day in it but...oh well.

No need to PM me anymore about W&M, I read it and it was great, but feel free to PM for other reasons.

Thank you to **SumFatChic** and **txone **for the help.

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Chapter Three

Eric picked me up off the bar stool and I wrapped my legs around him. While I was occupied with grabbing his best asset he said in a voice that was pure lust, "Have you ever been made love to under the stars?" Actually, I had once, with Bill but that was not an entirely pleasant experience, and technically it was raining and cloudy so there were no stars out. Instead of recounting this story to Eric I sighed into his lips and replied, "It's too cold to do that outside." He chuckled at my response though I didn't see what was so funny about it but I did feel a heap of anticipation come across the bond as he whisked me upstairs still wrapped firmly around his waist.

He removed one of his hands from under my behind long enough to open the door to his bedroom. Much like the rest of his house, I was sure that it would not disappoint, but I was too wrapped up in kissing Eric to notice anything other than the bed as he laid me down on it like I was made of glass. Of course it was a California king set smack dab in the middle of the intimate space with no walls surrounding it on any sides. There wasn't even a head bored, just the requisite mattress, sheets and a comforter that felt like the softest cotton I'd ever touched, butter beneath my exposed skin. I had a sudden urge to roll around naked in the softness of them. Then I thought: _Why am I fantasizing? I'm about to do that anyways. Duh._

Eric moved away from me for a second and I missed his touch already. I looked up at the ceiling and understood what he meant moments ago about making love under the stars. The entire roof above the bed and some was made of glass. It was breathtaking. His house, much like my humble abode, was far enough out of the city for the night sky to not be contaminated by all the light pollution. I thought I could even see the Milky Way.

Eric and I had not connected on a physical level since before we were blood bonded and I really wasn't sure what to expect or if our coupling would be as it was when he wasn't quite compos mentis. All I knew is that to say Eric was skilled was an understatement and my libido was doing happy dances all around my sanity because of it.

The only illumination in the room was the light radiated by the stars and the moon, and of course the eerie, yet comforting, glow emitted by my vampire. Eric had opened the drapes on the outer walls. Since we were in a corner of the house, the two outer walls were a sheet of glass, and nothing more. I was blushing furiously and I must have underestimated Eric's eyesight because he suddenly turned around and said "Don't worry. There are no other properties behind or to this side of my house. No one will you." Well, how convenient. I noticed that he said "no one will see _you_" rather than saying "no one will see _us_." Vampires just don't have the same sense of modesty that us regular folk do. Hell, they have no sense of modesty.

Eric wasted no time coming back over to the bed. He pulled me towards him and swung my knees off the side of the mattress. Kneeling on the ground before me, he took one of my feet in his hands and laid a tender kiss on top of it. I was still wearing those strappy heels that Eric seemed to like so much.

His lips made their way to my ankle laying tender kisses there as Eric pulled me further off the bed. His other hand traveled upwards, caressing my calf. The touch was so loving and simple, yet it set the coals afire in my abdomen. I could tell that things were about to get a little "friskier" as that hand tensed into a claw and the kisses around my ankle became playful nips.

Eric began licking his way up my shin. He planted kisses on both of my kneecaps before continuing his exploration with his tongue on the inner part of my thigh. My breath hitched in my throat as he got closer and closer to my center. Then, about three quarters of the way up my thigh, he abruptly removed his grasp from that leg and switched over to my other leg, paying homage to it by repeating everything that he had done before.

This time, instead of stopping, he kept going alllll the way up the sensitive skin of my thigh, licking and nipping at it. He pushed up the skirt of my black dress to the waist, which is also where he laid his hands.

The bond was vibrating with so much anticipation I thought I would have ringing in my ears for days. Eric let out a growl, clearly frustrated as he reached for something in his pocket: cell phone. _So I guess the vibrations and the ringing was from that, huh?_

"Speak." He commanded forcefully and I pitied the poor soul of whoever was on the other line.

The room was dead silent other than, what I made out to be, a muffled burst of giggled laughter coming from the phone in Eric's hand.

Eric rolled his eyes as he all but shoved the device at me and said incredulously "It's for you."

I didn't need to be a telepath to know exactly who was on the other line. "Hello, Amelia?" I questioned, putting a little too much annoyed emphasis on her name. She was still in a fit of giggles. I waited for her to calm down some then said. "What's wrong?" I almost added "because I'm in the middle of doing something" but I didn't want to let on anything about my current status.

"Nothing's wrong, I was just calling to check up on you." She slurred over the background music in the bar. "I called your cell phone but you didn't answer. That's when I got worried and asked Pam for Eric's number." She offered as an explanation for the interruption. My cell phone was actually in my coat pocket back in my car. "She thought that Eric wouldn't answer a call from a number he didn't know so she let me call from her cell phone." I could practically hear Pam's amusement and smug satisfaction over the phone. She just loved to tease Eric. I knew that he could hear every single word of this conversation. I also knew that Pam should say goodbye to any hope of receiving a Christmas present from her Master this year. ..or for the rest of her existence.

"Uh, well that's nice of you to worry about me."

"Oh, I wasn't really that worried. Pam's just closing up for the night and I was kinda bored." Maybe it's from working at a bar for about six years, but I wasn't surprised by her inebriated honesty. I could already tell where she was headed. "So, done anything fun yet?" She questioned curiously, and then giggled again. Boy, Amelia was certainly the happy-go-lucky type of drunk.

Through this little exchange I had my eyes focused on my feet. I finally chanced a look at Eric and he had both eyebrows raised so high I thought they would disappear into his hairline. He looked more impatient than angry. The bond told me the same thing, which was a relief, for Amelia more so than me. I was torn between amusement and sheer annoyance and probably wouldn't care too much if Eric decided to lash out at her.

"I gotta go." I said; surprised I could even form the words as Eric started sending me waves of lust through the bond.

"Ooooh? because you're in the middle of doing something? Hope I didn't interru—." I didn't get to hear anymore because Eric grabbed his phone out of my hand and threw it against one of the glass walls.

"Enough of this." He growled. I agreed.

Eric lifted off his knees and practically pounced on me. I landed back on the bed with an "oof" as he began ravishing my neck with kisses. His fangs ran down as he sucked me skin between his teeth, his considerable length pressing into my abdomen.

Then once again, he was off of me, except this time he grabbed my hand and brought me with him so that we were standing at the foot of the bed. He turned me around so that I was facing away from him. He began unzipping my dress, letting one finger trail down the bare skin of my spine as he did so. I shivered. The dress fell to the floor in a silky pool around my feet. I wasn't wearing a bra (built in, thank you).

His hands travelled down the sides of my body as Eric planted tiny kisses from the base of my neck and followed the trail that his one finger had moments ago along my spine. Instead of stopping where my zipper had, he kept travelling lower and lower with his lips until he was kissing the skin right above my lacy underwear. He ran one finger between my legs across my centre and I nearly came as my knees buckled beneath me. Luckily Eric still had a firm grip on my hips or I would have fallen forward off my heels. That's right, at this moment all I was wearing was a pair of black lace panties and my four inch strappy sandals. And Eric was still fully clothed! I decided that that had to change.

I pressed my back against Eric, rocking gently against him, feeling him swell even more pressed against the crease of my behind. Turning around, I looked into his eyes, searching for his approval. I found it and let my hand slip to briefly caress his erection through his jeans. He groaned. I lifted his shirt over his head and threw it away; it might as well have landed on the moon. I ran my nails along his chiselled chest down his perfect abs back to those deliciously snug jeans.

Just a zipper, a button and some underwear away from being reintroduced to that perfect world class butt of his. I discovered that he was going commando while I dipped my hands into his pants to cup his behind. _Oh boy._

With the jeans loose, I lightly pushed them down. Eric took one step forward and out of them, into my arms. We kissed and kissed until I needed to come up for air.

Eric lifted me into his arms like I was Scarlett O'Hara and laid me back on the bed. His hands began working the straps on my shoes and I playfully asked "I thought you wanted to fuck me in them?"

"Another time." He replied throwing one of my heels to the side of the bed. "Right now I need you naked." When the other sandal was gone, Eric slid my panties off, making sure that the lace made as much contact with my skin as possible. I was utterly impressed with his regard for the wellbeing of my clothing.

Eric prepared me with his talented fingers and brought me off with his tongue, his name on my lips as I came. While I was still shuddering from my bliss, I arched my back and Eric quickly saw an opportunity to try something new (well, new to me at least). He slid one arm underneath my back, his hand placed below my shoulder blades while he used his other arm to support him and myself on the bed. He drew me close to him in a semi sitting position while I threw one arm around his neck and hitched my legs up on either side of his waist, holding on for the ride that was to come. We were pretty much as close and tangled as two people could get and I suspected that no mortal man could hold this position.

I reached down between us with my free hand and gave his length a few quick strokes. Eric was nearly whimpering as I guided him to my entrance.

I didn't know that part of me was missing until he entered me.

He slowly penetrated my depth while I sucked on his bottom lip. My breathing was becoming rapid and shallow. I moved my hand to caress his spectacular derriere. His head fell to my shoulder where he placed butterfly kisses as he buried his erection up to the hilt.

I met him thrust for thrust with my hips as he began to move within me. He was providing a dichotomy of strokes; slow and fast—tender and relentless. The bond broke open and emotions spilled out around us in a golden glow. I was feeling EVERYTHING Eric was feeling and I suspected he was feeling all of my emotions too. I couldn't give half a measure—it felt _normal_--as he plunged into me hard and fast, hitting one of my scream-inducing-spots. Eric let out a ragged groan as I tightened my muscles around his sizable length.

I felt as if every care in the world had been lifted away from me and was now flowing around me but not able to touch me because of the barrier of the eerie glow, which had changed from gold to blue.

I felt like I was floating on nothing but air—which happened to be literally true. Eric had lifted us several inches up off the bed. His arm that had been of use as support was now placed at the small of my back. I tightened all my limbs around him and tensed up but I immediately felt a calming vibe coming from Eric and relaxed. He had me. He would never let any harm come to me.

The sensation was so pure. There was only me and Eric, nothing else to contaminate our union.

Eric bucked his hips at the end of each thrust and used the hand on the small of my back to bring my pelvis into further contact with his, driving him so beyond the realm of deep that I thought I could feel him in my throat. I screamed, arching my back allowing him even better access. Eric pulsed inside of me at the delight of inciting such a reaction. The pressure in my abdomen was almost too much to bear and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before I tumbled over the edge. The peculiar glow was becoming increasingly brilliant and white that I slammed my eyes shut by pure instinct.

"Lover, look at me while I make you come." I thought I heard him panting even though he had no need for breath.

I looked up into Eric's eyes and he was so beautiful. Vampires always had a glow to me, but his glow was more luminous than ever. Emotions were ricocheting between our connected bodies. Eric hit one of my spots and I was a goner. I brought Eric with me and we came doing exactly what my Viking wished, looking directly into each other's eyes. The bright white light pulsated all around our bodies. Not a second after we came down from our sublime climaxes did Eric break from my gaze. He sucked and nibbled my breasts, still pumping into me, but at a slower more relaxed pace. He bit my right breast and this time _his_ climax triggered my own. We both screamed; I with a string of 'Eric's'; and he in that language that he reverts back to when his emotions run high.

The brilliant light swelled in the room until it was unbearable to look at but too beautiful not to – and could probably be spotted from outer space--and then it was gone and we were back on the bed. Eric just stared down at me. Immense happiness and satisfaction travelled across his face and were mirrored by the bond. I on the other hand was sending out waves of confusion of a colossal variety. But maybe I shouldn't have been looking a gift horse in the mouth, or whatever.

After I had regained my breath and was relatively calmer, Eric disengaged himself from my depths and I almost cried at the loss of him. A part of me _was_ missing. He didn't move beside me as I half expected him to. Instead he stayed where he was, on top of me, brushing my hair back with one hand while using his other arm to support his own weight on the mattress. He was memorizing every detail of my face with reverence.

I ran my hands up and his back, scratching lightly. He hummed at my gesture.

"Eric, I've never...that was...it's not always like this." I said in a daze, breaking the silence. I was still massively befuddled about what had happened moments ago and needed some answers. _I may be inexperienced, but I think I know people shouldn't glow during sex._

"No, it's the bond." He explained still running his hand through my long locks. "When two bondeds unite in such a way, it not only connects them physically but also emotionally. An energy is drawn around and through them, connecting them, though I have never heard of anyone connecting on such a overwhelming level before. Making love is the second most powerful way to summon this sort of force."

"What's the first?" I asked curiously, absently massaging his shoulders.

"Reaffirming one's bond." That meant taking more vampire blood and I wasn't too keen on doing that anytime soon. _Oh well, I guess we will both just have to settle for having the second best form of sex_.

I moved my head over a bit to look back up at the starry ceiling and said, "It really is beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you, my love." He whispered in my ear.

We kissed tenderly for a while, and then he moved off of me pulling me into his arms. He began pointing out a few constellations and telling me the myths behind them. His voice rumbled and was so soothing that after I laid my head back down on Eric's chest, the whole word went silent.

I must have drifted off because the next thing I knew I was in Eric's arms gently being placed under some blankets. I opened my eyes and noticed that we were in a different room.

"Lover?" Eric said as he arranged himself under the covers beside me.

"Mmm?" I was still tired but I tried to focus.

"Know that I trust you with my life, which is why I have brought you to my actual home and my daytime resting place. I don't bring human guests here and the hired staff doesn't know that this is a vampire's residence. Only you, Pam and a handful of the area vampires know." His words weren't as clipped so I knew he was in a relaxed state, the bond echoed this as well.

I understood what he was trying to tell me. "I'll guard this secret with my life." I almost did a scouts honour gesture but that may have ruined the moment a little.

"I know you will." He kissed the tip of my nose.

"You said you didn't bring humans here?"

"No, I have another home I use for entertaining company and such. Though I have not had any use for the place since Felipe and his retinue_ visited_." He said _visited_ as if he resented the word and all it represents. I couldn't blame him.

I almost shuddered at the mention of Felipe. He had ordered (finally) dead several vampires that I held in high regard, or rather, at least respected. Though Felipe had not summoned me for use of my specific talent yet, I knew that it would only be a matter of time till that day came.

That left another question though. Did not using the home mean not having "relations" with fangbangers, or did it just mean that he was doing that _stuff_ elsewhere? I figured that there was no time like the present to ask.

"What do you mean by you haven't had any use for it?"

He gave me a totally incredulous look and I found my answer.

"You've been _celibate_?" I may have sounded a little too disbelieving. As tired as I was I had to stifle a little giggle. This is Eric—The Sex God who has women (and men) literally falling over him like dominoes at his feet. He shot me a glance but I quickly recovered by pretending to clear my throat. "For how long?" I thought I knew, probably the night of the takeover, the night Eric got his memories back—I was wrong.

"Since Rhodes. Since our bonding." I really didn't know what to say. He continued. "We are bonded, Sookie. _Bonded_. That means something to me. It would have been disrespectful of me not to be faithful to our bond, even if you would not acknowledge it." Oh geez, I felt terrible. This whole time Eric had been trying to get my attention to have our Talk and I blew him off, only thinking of myself. _Selfish, Selfish, Selfish_.

Eric sensed the shift in my mood and quickly squeezed me in his big, muscular arms, trying to comfort me.

"I wasted so much time. I'm sorry." I hugged his chest.

"You are mine now as much as I am yours and that is all that matters. There is no need to be sorry and you will never be sorry again. Understood?"

I nodded into his chest and let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.

"Would you like me to show you how to use the alarm system and locking mechanism for this room?"

"Can we do that..." I was about to say "tomorrow night" but I realized that I had no intentions of sleeping her two nights in a row since I had to be at work at Merlotte's on Saturday for the lunch shift and it was now somewhere between Thursday night and Friday morning, so instead I finished with "another time." I was bone tired and probably wouldn't remember a word Eric said anyways.

"Very well. I won't arm the system then. Since you will be here tomorrow, I trust that you will not let anything happen to me while I rest."

"Of course I won't let anything happen to you." I said with complete sincerity. "What time is it anyways?"

"4AM. About one hour before dawn. You fell asleep for some time. You looked so peaceful and I loved the feel of your warm body wrapped around the coolness of mine. I could't bring myself to wake you."

He hugged me closer to him and I yawned. I was being pulled back under by a current of exhaustion. Light Bright sex definitely has that affect on me, and with Eric doubly so.

As I drifted off, I heard Eric say "Dream of me fucking you my Lover, and I will bet those dreams come true."

TBC

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Reviews make Eric _very_ happy


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I am crazy sorry that this took so long. I could make a bunch of excuses ('cause I have a few) but I won't bore ya'll with them. Again this chapter is really just setting the setting...so lots of description but after this I probably won't be too obsessed with small details that don't have to do with the plot. I felt really bad so I made this chapter extra long with some extra ESN. I promise after this chapter I'll get a Beta.

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Chapter Four

I awoke from my dreamy state at about half past ten in the morning. I was a little bit disoriented at first due to the darkness of the room and a big cool weight draped over me but I quickly gained my bearings. I turned over off my back to face Eric. He was lying on his stomach with one arm wrapped around me tucked beneath my chest, and one long leg tangled between my own. His head was slightly turned towards me. I smiled at the sight of his thoroughly disheveled hair, like a lions main. I brushed a few tendrils out of his face and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Oh, and we were still naked as the day is long.

This was a special moment for me and I decided to revel in it for a while. With Bill, I had never been able to sleep with him during the day since he slept in one of his many bolt-holes or in the ground. It was one of the many downsides to dating a vampire. Since Eric apparently slept in a bed...no problems.

I probably could have stayed in that bed until night fall, but nature called. The clock on my side of the bed was the only illumination in the room. It was throwing just enough light for me to be able to make out a lamp on the bedside table. I switched it on and began my exploration of this strange place.

The first thing I did was find the bathroom. I prayed that there was a toilet in there. After all, this house was designed for a vampire. Thankfully there was one, but no toilet paper so I used Kleenex instead. I took care of my human needs and was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't sore in my most intimate parts. Eric must have healed me while I slept.

The urgency of the moment was gone and I could now enjoy my surroundings, which were probably the size of my bedroom. Like the rest of his house, the bathroom had an earthy, organic quality to it. The floor was a beige ceramic tile, too cold for my feet, and the walls were made of that stylish imperfect concrete that I've seen in home decor magazines. There was a pool of a tub smack in the middle of the room, circular in shape. Around it was a ledge (inlaid with the same ceramic tile as the floor) that was about a foot on all sides. There were honest to goodness steps leading up to the top of the tub, three of them to be exact. There was also a mammoth of a shower. I had to get my libido under control from just looking at it. It was..._sinful_, to say the least. Like I've said, vampires; not so modest. The shower, which took up an entire wall, was surrounded by the imperfect concrete on three sides, but the front of the shower, which many people would say is the most important part (other than the shower head), was simply a pane of transparent glass that was slightly shorter than the shower itself on one ends. There were several shower heads, some smaller, coming from lower on the walls, some bigger coming from the ceiling, others looked like your typical shower heads. As if the shower weren't_ Eric_ enough, there were two wide full length mirrors placed so they met at a right angle in the far corner of the shower. _Now _that_ is kinky_.

I craved a shower more than anything remembering that I hadn't cleaned up after last night's_ activities_. Eric and I would just have to wait a little longer to relive that memory because right now, I needed to relive that clean feeling.

After my shower—I avoided the end with mirrors—I wrapped myself up in a Viking size towel that I found neatly folded over a towel rack. I washed up a bit, even locating a toothbrush still in its packaging and a tube of toothpaste.

Once I was finished in the washroom, which might as well be called a spa or heaven, I explored Eric's enormous bedroom. Flipping on a light, It was obvious that the bedroom had been recently redone (meaning within the last ten years). Whereas the rest of the house was considered modern and minimalist for the time it was made, the bedroom was exceptionally modern by today's standards. It also reflected more of the Eric that I knew. All the furniture and minimal decor contained clean crisp lines. Three walls were painted jet black while a large black closet with red glass doors was installed to cover most of the one white wall. His bed was one of those boxy California king sized ones that lie close to the floor. The boxy part was wood painted black while the sheets and comforter were crimson red with a ton of red and black pillows. There was a chandelier hanging above the bed...a gosh darn chandelier! From what I'd seen of the house, this was the only room to have a carpet (it was white and I feared for its safety). His desk, bedside tables and another slim cabinet were all black with chrome knobs and matched each other perfectly. There was a leather love seat and one seater arranged away from the walls in one corner of the room around a fireplace. Mounted on the wall across from the bed was a (I guessed) 52" flat screen television and plenty more stereo equipment and speakers to go with it.

There was something missing. After about a minute of pondering and studying the details of the room I figured it out. No windows.

In that minute I found a note from Eric attached to the back of the bedroom door.

_My Starry Eyed Lover,_

_Make yourself at home. If you need clothing, please take whatever you would like from my wardrobe. Pam keeps some clothing here as well. If you would like to borrow from her selection I have left a few items on my desk, Pam will not mind. There is plenty of food for you in the kitchen. Since we do not know who or of what nature the attacker was, I ask_ (read: command) _that you stay within the confines of my property. Feel free to explore. I think that you will enjoy the many surprises you find. _

_-E_

I would love to wear Eric's clothing, but opted for Pam's instead. My reasoning was a) I didn't want to go snooping in his closet and b) I knew if I did wear his clothes I would just be distracted by his scent all day. He always smelled amazing—like wood, earth and expensive cologne--and it was enough to bring my sex drive up to fourth gear.

I had a really horrible feeling that the type of clothing Pam would leave here would be her Fangtasia garb. And of course she wouldn't mind if I wore her stuff, Pam loves the way I smell, hell all Supes do apparently, with the feyness and all. Ugh, it just makes me want to gag.

I walked over to Eric's desk and sorted through the clothing. I was pleasantly surprised. It was all stuff that I would definitely wear (with one notable exception of a transparent red teddy which I did not want to know why Pam kept at Eric's house). I picked out a cute baby blue velour tracksuit, noticing the label said Juicy Couture. Tara sold some of that brand at her store, Tara's Togs, and I could never afford even half of a set so I was taking the opportunity now.

Eric had also left me some underwear. All thongs, _such a shocker,_ I thought, rolling my eyes. I was just glad that vampires didn't sweat, have "human needs" or transmit diseases so it wasn't as disgusting borrowing underthings from them. It's not like I hadn't borrowed Pam's underwear before. _Thank you Maenad_.

I didn't have a bra, but it really didn't matter. As things were, I wasn't going out any time soon. To give myself a little more restraint I picked out a tight white tank top to wear underneath the tracksuit.

Luckily, I had nowhere else to be today. I had anticipated Amelia's desire to "have some fun", and decided to book today off from Merlotte's in order to take care of her if needed. Even if I had to leave, I couldn't because a) I left my car back at Fangtasia and b) Eric never showed me how to disarm the security system for the entire house. I reminded myself to call home to see if Amelia made it back and if not then I wanted to check in with Octavia to let her know the situation. I didn't think she was in danger, but I didn't want her to be worried that neither Amelia nor I made it back home last evening.

I decided that I was absolutely famished so I headed down (or should I say_ up_) to the kitchen. When I opened the bedroom door I was presented with a dimly lit stairwell. I closed his door behind me and walked the few steps up to the next door. I had no idea where it was going to lead, but I hoped that it was a room that I would recognize from last night. No such luck. The door spilled out into another sizable bathroom. When I shut it behind me I noticed that it looked like a full length mirror. How clever. The one bad thing was that once the door was shut, there was no noticeable door knob and I wouldn't be able to get back into the room until Eric showed me how. The bathroom led to a bedroom. This one was much more to my taste, windows and all. I looked out one of the windows to see that I was on the first floor. This meant that Eric's room was below ground which I thought was impossible in Louisiana because of the watertable. Of course, after exiting the bedroom I found myself in a two way corridor. I did Eni Meeni Mini Mo in my head to decide which way to go. After about eight minutes and a few wrong turns I found the kitchen.

Sure enough, there were all sorts of delicious items. I deduced that having food present in his house was not on my account. He had told me last night that he had human staff who didn't know a vampire lived here. It would look mighty suspicious if the kitchen always lacked food. But wouldn't the lack of any daytime residents do that anyways?

Although the presence of food wasn't on my account, the type of food that was present sure was. I looked through the pantry and refrigerator and found a lot of foods that I remembered having around last New Year. Eric's powers of observation will never cease to amaze me. He probably only glanced at my food once or twice while reaching for a bottle of TrueBlood while he stayed with me

I brewed some coffee -- my favorite blend -- and then fixed myself up some of my famous homemade pancakes. He even had real maple syrup, a luxury that I never had in the house.

I nearly spit out my coffee when I noticed the same of word of the day calendar I had at home, sitting on the counter beside the refrigerator.

After I finished my delicious breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen until it was as spotless as before, including the dish that Eric had thrown in the sink the night before (he had a dishwasher so no real effort was exerted on my end anyways), I called Octavia in Bon Temps. She would probably wonder why both Amelia and I hadn't come home last night (unless Amelia had already gotten herself back to Bon Temps, which was another reason why I was calling).

It rang five times before someone picked up. "Hello."

"Good morning Octavia."

"Oh Sookie, good to hear from you." She sounded relieved.

"Sorry I didn't call last night." I wanted to give her an explanation but I didn't know how much I could give away.

"That's alright. I'm not your mother and you're a grown woman. I was just a little worried about you after Amelia called me this morning." I was glad that Amelia had called, that mean she survived her little slumber party with Pam.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm fine. What did Amelia say?"

"That you were shot at during your outing to the vampire bar. You sound very calm about it." Well, who wouldn't be _calm_ after a night under Eric?

"It's really no big deal." That wasn't true. It was probably a huge deal. But I was trying to downplay the shooting as a random event to ease Octavia's nerves some.

Octavia let out a humph and it was time for me to get off the phone. I told her that I would be home by tonight at the latest, said my goodbyes and hung up.

Next on my list of people to call: Amelia.

"Afternoon Stackhouse. How was tall, blond and dead?" She sounded perkier than ever. I looked at the clock on the microwave and it was in fact the afternoon.

"Speaking of blond and dead – you're okay right?" I didn't know how much confidence I should have in Pam's self control.

"Better than ever." I really hoped that didn't mean what I think it meant and I couldn't think of anything to say. Amelia, sensing my discomfort, jumped back in. She laughed. "Oh, Sookie. You have a really dirty mind, you know that? Pam was a perfect lady. She didn't lay a fang on me. She just happened to have the flowers necessary to make my hangover remedy and it worked like an absolute charm."

I let out a little sigh of relief (not into the phone of course).

"You're still at Pam's?" I heard some faint music in the background.

"No. Pam said I could take her car to get myself back to Bon Temps and Eric or one of the other vamps would pick her up when she had to get to the bar tonight."

"Okay, just be safe. If that car gets damaged Pam will drink you dry."

"Yeah, I know."

"So how much trouble did you two get into last night?"

"Believe it or not, it was just like the sleepovers I used to have when I was little. We talked. We laughed. We watched movies. I pulled an all nighter, so did Pam, but for different reasons. We had lots of fun." Pam and Amelia shared a lot in common. They both liked women (sometimes), they both had money, and they both were used to "finer things." I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Not because I wanted sole rights to either Pam or Ameila. I felt jealous because when I was little it was nearly impossible for me to have sleepovers, what with my "gift" and all. Kids were a bit afraid of me and I had nearly no control over my _hearing_. I quickly shook myself out of yet another pity party. I had no right to feel this way. I had just had the most earth-shattering experience with a thousand year old Viking vampire. Experiences like those did not happen every day, er night.

"I'm glad to hear that." I said sincerely.

"When do you plan on coming home?"

"No later than tonight. I have to wait till Eric wakes up so he can drive me to Fangtasia so I can get my car."

"I can turn back to Shreveport and come get you right now and bring you to your car if you'd like." It was a really good offer. I seriously considered it for a moment. Then remembered the attempt on my life and ditching Eric was not an option. I might be stubborn, but I'm not stupid. Also, the alarm was still on.

"Thanks for the offer but I think it's best that I stay here. I'll see you later though. Take care."

"You too hun."

We said our goodbyes and hung up.

I knew exactly what I was going to do with the rest of my day. Eric told me to explore, so explore I did.

What I found was no less than impressive. He had a large indoor pool and hot tub. Both were of the same style as the rest of the house. I stumbled upon a passage way and found myself in the pool house, otherwise known as Eric's game room, complete with a pool table, Foosball table, almost all video game consoles that exist, a fully stocked wet bar (which was curious, just like his toilet) and more. There was still more exploring to do before I enjoyed the fruits of this room.

The next significant find I made was his study. The walls were lined with bookcases and each one was full of a range of books. Some looked ancient and some were hilariously modern (I found a copy of Twilight and made a mental note to tease him about that later). Looking at the large desk in the study I noticed some odd leather bound books. One title read "Locus Magick." Another book was all about spells on memory loss. It looked like Eric had been doing his research. As far as I knew—which wasn't much – he still had no clue why he ended up running, of all places, down a road near my house half naked. I imagine that it still irked him considering what Pam had told me not long ago about Eric remembering every second of his long existence save those few nights (which he now could recall with pristine detail).

After going through almost every room in his house I went back to the indoor pool wanting to take a little dip. I took off my tracksuit, leaving me in only a little thong and my tight white tank top. Subconsciously (or consciously) I may have been hoping Eric would come out and find me like this. After all, it was getting dark out. On the other hand, my sense of modesty may have been taking on the same form as my vampire's. Whatever it was, it didn't really matter since I didn't expect anyone else (other than Eric) to see me.

While I was in the middle of doing a lap I felt a wave of calm wash over me and I knew that Eric was awake. Then there was a rush of excitement that sent butterflies about in my stomach. Was it mine? Was I just really excited to see him?

I continued with my laps but when I hit the wall something cool grabbed my hand and I shrieked. It was a good thing I was in the shallow end because if not, I may have drowned. I heard a familiar chuckle above me. Looking up I saw Eric standing there staring down at me with shear amusement slapped across his face. He crouched down on the edge of the pool and instead of scolding him for scaring the bejesus out of me, I grabbed onto his hand as hard I could and with the rest of my strength pulled him into the water. I'm sort of thinking that he let me do this because there's no way I would be able to normally, even with vampire blood in my system.

"Oh lover, I will punish you for this." He said in a serious tone when he finally surfaced, but there was nothing coming through the bond to back his threat up.

"You could try." I said condescendingly but it didn't have quite the impact I intended because my eyes were roaming over every inch of his perfect god-like body that I could see above the water. _Oh, the water_. It was doing wonderful things to his chest. Little droplets were dripping from the wet tendrils of his blond hair rolling down his pecs towards his nipples then lower through the crevasses of his abs then even lower to -- well you get the picture. My mouth may have been open and I may have been drooling a little. My nipples were hard as diamonds and straining against the fabric of my white tank top which was now see-through thanks to the water.

He gave me a little smirk then began to trace the same path with the tips of his fingers that he had seen my eyes following seconds ago. I briefly noticed that he had put on black silk sleeping pants as he ran his fingers just underneath the waist band then dipped his hand in the front caressing his length and letting out a little moan.

We were only standing about a foot away from each other and I wanted to close the distance so I jumped him. Before I knew it I was landing face first into the water. When I recovered spurting water out of my mouth, I spun around and saw Eric standing about a foot off from the mark I intended to hit. _Stupid vampire speed_, I cursed in my head.

He let out another chuckle and said "Be patient Dear One."

_Be patient? Be patient! I'll teach him something about patience. Two can play at this game. _

We were both pretty close to the wall of the pool so I backed up towards it and hopped up onto the ledge. Eric was eyeing me like a cat does a mouse it's about to pounce on. Sitting there, I ran my fingers lightly over the side of my neck, down to my collar bone then I stroked my breasts pinching a nipple between my fingers through the wet fabric. Eric let out a groan. My other hand roamed over my stomach. As I spread my legs apart I never broke eye contact with him. I began caressing my inner thigh, letting my fingers graze upwards. I was burning for him and the only thing stopping the flames from consuming me was the ice blue of Eric's eyes and the cool water surrounding my calves.

I had begun quietly panting and throbbing, but Eric didn't move. There was one thing I knew that he wouldn't be able to resist.

I pushed my thong aside and glided one finger inside me, moaning Eric's name. His eyes widened and he tensed up. I began picking up my pace finding a nice rhythm and not before long I was seeing silver sparks.

All of a sudden I was being pulled forward and my legs automatically wrapped around Eric's waist. He was grinding into me and punishing my lips with a fevered kiss.

"You are going to beg for your release." He growled as he pulled away and jumped catlike straight up onto the deck, pulling me with him.

"No Eric." I breathed into his mouth as I grazed my hand over his impressive erection. "You're the one who's going to be doing the begging."

Wave after wave of lust pounded me through our bond and I was almost certain that Eric was going to take me right then and there on the cold, hard surface of the pool deck.

To my utter amazement he didn't.

He grabbed both my butt cheeks in his hands and lifted me up so I was straddling his waist with my legs wrapped around his back. Our wet bodies were pressed against each other and I let out an involuntary shiver at the coolness radiating off of us.

I pinched one of his perfect butt cheeks while sucking on his lower lip. "If you keep this up," he said, "I'm going to have to borrow Pam's whip." I didn't want to think about that too much, but oddly enough it excited me. He was motivating me to see how much he would let me get away with.

I didn't know where we were going since I was too busy kissing and nipping Eric's neck, but he took his torturous sweet time walking us there.

Eric finally set me down and I realized that we were in his giant bathroom. With lightning speed he turned on the shower and dragged me in behind him. The warm water felt amazing on my cool skin.

We began another round of tonsil hockey as we clawed at each other's bodies. Eric rolled my tank top over my head and tossed it aside. He put one strong arm around my back and pressed me against his mouth as he began lavishing my breasts with attention. He used his free hand to shimmy out of his soaking wet pants freeing his cool length.

Eric backed me up into the shower wall then turned me around so I was facing one of the full length mirrors. _Oh hell_, I thought, _what have I gotten myself into?_

I pressed both my palms to the mirror as he undulated -- hey, that was the word of the day today -- his hips against my back so that I could feel the tip of his erection above my thong. He lifted the hair away from my neck then ran his tongue behind my ear. My knees instantly buckled and if it weren't for Eric's body grinding me into the wall, I would have fallen to the floor.

One of Eric's hands snaked around to my abdomen then lower to my mound. Just like I had done before, he pushed my thong aside and plunged two fingers into my depths. I closed my eyes and screamed out in pleasure, pressing my backside harder against his throbbing erection.

"Look at me Sookie. Never take your eyes off me."

My eyes flung open and I watched him quickly sink down to his knees behind me and rip off my thong, never removing his fingers from my wetness. He encouraged me to backup a little still leaning with my palms flat on the mirror.

He spread my legs apart and without further warning placed one long lick up my folds with his cool tongue. I arched my back and bit my bottom lip trying to hold in the cry that wanted to escape. After all, I needed him to beg, not the other way around.

The hot water mixed with the feel of his cool tongue was driving me out of my mind. He circled my nub with his tongue then licked the underside of my hole, fingers still working their magic. I was so ready for him to enter me and I had to hold myself from screaming said desire more than once. As he let his tongue sink into my depths and let his fingers circle my clit I couldn't hold it in any more. I came panting and screaming his name.

Eric didn't let up on his assault of my lower body as I imagined he would. He spread my legs even further apart and picked up the pace with his longue letting it slither in and out of my entrance at a delirious pace.

"_Eric..."_ I moaned.

"Is something wrong my lover?" He asked coyly as he stroked my clit with his fingers. I let out a sharp moan.

"Uhhh." I was aching for him to fuck me, but too proud to admit it.

"If you don't tell me what you want me to do to you, then I can't help."

"Eric!"

"Beg for it, Sookie. Beg me to fuck you."

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I could make Eric just as delirious as I was.

As reluctant as I was to turn away from his attentions I wiggled out of his iron grip. I felt some amusement coming through the bond as he rose to his full magnificent height.

_It's my turn baby_, I thought as I sank down on my knees in front of him.

Luckily his large body was blocking any water from making its way into my face.

He gazed into my eyes intently. "Watch me." I said as I pointed, indicating the mirror to my side.

I took him into my mouth. Eric let out a deep guttural moan and threw his head back. "If you're not gonna watch, maybe I should just stop." I said. Eric's eyes snapped down to meet mine. I gave him an innocent smile and said, "Thought so," continuing my oral escapade.

Though I was no expert on the subject, I seemed to be doing an _adequate _job. I licked, sucked and stroked his erection, feeling him pulsate in my mouth and bringing him to the edge of a very dangerous cliff.

"_Sookie..."_ He growled from deep in his throat, clenching both his fists into a ball.

"Hmmm?" Was all I could manage with my lips still wrapped around his cock. I ran my nails over his balls and felt him throb under my touch, a warm liquid trickling down the back of my throat.

"We are apparently matched in our stubbornness." He said as lifted me off my knees and turned me back around to face the mirror so fast that I became dizzy.

Without anymore preamble he grabbed my hips and plunged every considerable inch into me and we both screamed. I began to see the bright lights again and it was amazingly comforting to have them surrounding us around.

There was nothing the least bit gentle about Eric's plundering and I was glad for it. I needed to be fucked at this moment, not made love to. I wasn't sure where this little sex kitten persona was coming from but I did know that my body longed to be one with his and who was I to deny it of that.

I moved in counter rhythms to his thrusts, meeting every single one. With the water trickling down on our sensitive parts, it didn't take long to climax.

"Watch us." He said, as I locked eyes with him in the mirror.

Watching him, watching me...full circle, I was even more turned on. My abdominal muscles tightened around his shaft and I knew that I had seconds.

"Bite me." I screamed.

He bit my shoulder and I came instantly chanting his name. I felt his entire body tense behind me, then relax as he came continuing with slower strokes until he had completely released inside me. Slouching forward on top of my body he lovingly caressed my breasts as he licked the tiny wound.

"Mmmm," was all I could say.

"Mmmm is right." He said back as he stepped away to turn off the shower. My knees failed me and I instantly began my decent to the floor. Luckily, Eric's got that vamp speed and he caught me and whisked me up into his arms before I could smack my jaw on the shower floor. He gave me a kiss that made my heart ache and in that instant I knew I never wanted to be away from him for long periods of time. I felt safe here, with my arms wrapped around him and his around me.

He set me on the ledge of the tub and dried me off with a giant fluffy towel, then proceeded to do the same to himself.

Eric carried me back into the room and set me under the covers of his bed. Just as he was about to get in with me I heard a buzzing noise, the same one as last night. Eric lifted his phone from the bedside table and growled. It wasn't the good kind either.

"Excuse me." He said lifting one finger in the "one second" gesture. I just nodded my head, it's not like he needs my permission to answer his phone.

"Speak." He barked into the receiver.

His face lost some of its tension as he listened to the caller -- I'm assuming Pam.

"We'll be there," was the last thing he said before he hung up. (What, no goodbye?)

He looked up at me and I could almost see disappointment in his eyes.

"Get dressed, we're needed at Fangtasia."

TBC

* * *

**A/N:** Locus is Latin for location: I only know that because I'm taking genetics, but I guess it's probably common knowledge. Well if you didn't know, now you do.


End file.
